Six Cities Submit Bids for 2016 Democratic Convention

New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton's political base, and two cities in presidential battleground Ohio are among the six cities under consideration for the 2016 Democratic National Convention, officials announced Saturday.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida congresswoman who leads the DNC, said it had received proposals from Birmingham, Alabama; Columbus, Ohio; Cleveland; New York; Philadelphia and Phoenix. Wasserman Schultz said the committee had "fantastic options" and a group of DNC officials will evaluate the cities and make site visits as the committee considers its options.

The contenders include large cities familiar with holding major conventions and potential out-of-the-box picks.

With two cities in the mix, Ohio Democratic officials have pushed to hold the convention in their state, among the nation's most pre-eminent presidential battleground states.

Phoenix would give Democrats a way to connect with voters in Arizona, also eyed by the party as a potential swing state.

Philadelphia was the site of the 2000 Republican convention, where George W. Bush was first nominated. Birmingham represented a surprise bid and would bring Democrats into a reliably Republican state. The last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Alabama was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Fifteen cities were invited to submit bids but several deciding not to seek the convention, including Atlanta, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, Florida, and Chicago.

Many factors determine the selection, most notably whether the city has the facilities to stage the pageantry and whether there are enough hotels to house the delegates and media descending on the region.

Republicans are considering four cities for its 2016 convention: Dallas, Denver, Cleveland and Kansas City, Missouri.